Being a Nomad

I never know how to answer the question, “Where are you from?” Simply because I truly don’t know. Now that may seem weird, how can I not know where I am from? Well, my life has simply been a series of me living and moving in different places around the world, pretty much constantly. Sometimes, I will just pick a place that I have lived to tell someone the “short answer”, but I don’t feel like that really describes who I am. You see, I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. However, I never lived in one house for more than 2 years, so even within South Africa, I was constantly moving around. Yet, this is where my childhood was spent. This is where I started school. This was where I learned to ride a bike. Basically, I was here when I was first introduced to the world. I love this country and often this is my “short answer” because it makes the most sense- you are from where you are born, right?

It still feels wrong, and confuses many people, because I simply do not have a South African accent anymore. I often get a look of confusion if I don’t then explain the next era of my life. When I was 13, I moved to Dallas, Texas, of all places. I went to middle school and high school in Dallas. So these years were also very formative and important for me. This is where I made some friends that are still in my life today. This is where I first learned to drive. This is where I did all the firsts that teenagers do. But, I didn’t like living in Dallas at all. Let me preface that with saying I made amazing memories and had a good life there, but it could only ever be a place where I could live temporarily. It was an environment that didn’t suit me, it was simple and people led simple lives. There is nothing wrong with the way they lived, it was who they are but not who I am. While living in Dallas, I would constantly travel everywhere else. I couldn’t stay in one place. I visited every country in Central Europe and went to Australia and New Zealand 3 times! And I constantly went to Mexico.

Then I chose to go to University in Los Angeles, California. I ended up living there for 4 years. I loved living in California so much. It is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S.A. It virtually has every climate within a driving distance. In the north you have stunning mountains and stunning valleys. You also have stretches of beautiful green vineyards. San Francisco is a unique and colorful city that is fill of hills. In the middle of California, you have the most popular beaches. Los Angeles is a massive city that is so diverse in every single section. The different areas in Los Angeles from The Valley to Hollywood to Downtown too Malibu, everything and all the people are so different. It can feel like you’re in a completely different city each time you go to a different section of the same city! Then, just 2 hours from this city, you suddenly land up in the Desert in Joshua Tree!

Over the years I studied in Los Angeles, I spent 2 months in Amman, 2 months in Copenhagen, and 2 months in Ghana. So even then, I was always going somewhere else. After California, I moved to Miami, Florida. I love Miami and that is now my “base” in the United States. However, ever since I moved there, I have spent months abroad. I haven’t even had one constant year that I spent just in Miami.

At the beginning of this year, I sold my car and bought a one way ticket to Slovenia. Now I am in Poland and have no plans at all about where I will go next. So, I find myself being a nomad. Each place I visit and spend time in, has an impact on how I see the world. I meet people that will stay in my heart forever. When I think about the question, “where are you from” I see it as a way of describing who I am. And, my constant movement is who I am. I am a nomad.